Michael Vick disputes claims of leadership void

No way are the Eagles lacking leaders, quarterback Michael Vick insisted today.

"We have tremendous leadership on this team," he said before practice. "That’s not our problem. It’s far from that. I think our guys do a great job leading -- myself, [DT] Cullen [Jenkins], [CB] Asante [Samuel], other guys stepping up. We have that; we’re good in that department.

"Going out and getting it done on the football field has been our biggest problem."

Which brings us right back to the leadership issue as the biggest reason why they're not getting it done on the football field, especially when taking into account that four of their five losses were the result of blowing fourth-quarter leads.

Running back LeSean McCoy also addressed the issue after practice, said the "focus" and "determination" to finish games hasn't been there.

"I think it's a lack of just focus," McCoy said. "[When] we have a team where we want them at, we just want to be able to finish the right way, which we didn't do.

"And having the attitude -- you have to have the attitude to kind of finish games, to finish runs, block this, block that, make the plays, make the catches."

He didn't have a solution, though, and therein lies the rub.

More on that tomorrow, along with a look at how King Dunlap, all 6 feet, 9 inches of him, plans to stay low enough to play left guard in place of Evan Mathis, who was limping around the NovaCare Complex today with turf toe.

Don't snicker, either. Turf toe is one of the most painful and legitimate injuries in the sport. Put it this way: Eagles fans don't want Mathis trying to suck it up and play through with that condition, because he won't be able to get the job done. When you can't walk, it becomes a little difficult to block 300-pounders in the NFL.

Anyway, it's not a done deal that Mathis will miss Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, but he's in no shape to line up against them right now.